e-waste management in western africa mathias schluep, david rochat empa – swiss federal...
TRANSCRIPT
e-Waste Managementin Western Africa
Mathias Schluep, David Rochat
EMPA – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
www.empa.ch
St-Gallen / Switzerland
SBC – Geneva, 16-17 May 2009
Introduction
■ A bit of History
■ The Problem
■ Assessment Process: Components 1 and 2
■ Assessment Methodology
■ Conclusions
■ Tentative Project Approach
I. A bit of history (1)
■ EMPA: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing & Research
■ independent, neutral institution for multidisciplinary research into sustainable materials and systems engineering.
■ competence center for e-waste hosted by the technology and society laboratory
■ technical monitoring & control centre for e-waste on behalf of the Swiss PRO
■ Experienced in e-waste since the mid-90’s!
■ Managing the Swiss global e-waste programme “knowledge partnerships in e-waste management”. Projects in India, China, South Africa, Colombia, Peru
I. A bit of history (2)
■ The fight against digital divide results in massive imports of used and new computers in developing countries, especially in Africa
■ e-waste will become one of the major challenges in the field of waste management in developing countries
■ Several initiatives are looking for solutions to prevent the problem: Swiss e-Waste Programme (Seco/ Empa) in South Africa e-Waste Management in Africa (HP/ DSF/ Empa in Morocco,
Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. Including Recycling in a refurbishment centre (Unido/ Microsoft/
Empa) in Uganda and more….
II. The problem (1)
II. The problem (2)
II. The problem (3)
II. The problem (4)
II. The problem (5)
■ Before implementing a suitable e-waste management system, it is necessary to assess the current situation in a relatively short time
■ Questions: what to assess?■ How does e-waste and 2nd hand EEE enter the country?
Component 1
■ How is imported and domestic e-waste managed within the country? Component 2
■E-waste assessment methodology developed by Empa for component 2
■Methodology for component 1 to be developed (life experience)
III. The assessment process (1)
■ defining the organizational setup of the assessment study
Steering committee
- funding agency- programme management
Assessment team
- international expert- local expert
National e-waste strategy group
- government- industry- academia- civil society- other interest groups
III. The assessment process (2)
■ Mission of the international expert (approx. 1 week)■ Mobilisation of local stakeholders and constitution of the national e-
waste strategy group■ Technical training of the local expert (general knowledge on e-waste
and training for assessment)■ Public announcement of the project
■ Assessment study (approx. 12 months)■ Collection of data & Field visits■ Technical report
■ Workshop organised by the national strategy group■ Conclusions of the assessment study are discussed■ Design of a roadmap or implementing an e-waste management
system
The technical report and the roadmap are used for further actions
IV. Assessment methodology (2) – country background
■ Understanding of the country’s characteristics (WDI)
■ Allows better interpretation of the assessment’s results
■ Shows which alternatives are possible for the country’s e-waste problem
■ Allows comparisons with other countries
People Environment Total population Average annual population
growth rate Share of economically active
children Unemployment Youth unemployment Population bellow
international poverty line (Population bellow 1$ per day, population below 2$ per day)
Gini index
Land area Emissions of organic water
pollutants Energy use GDP per unit of energy use Rural population Urban population Population in urban
agglomerations of more than 1 million
Population in largest city Household size
Economy States & Markets Gross domestic product
(GDP) Purchasing power parity
(PPP) conversion factor GDP per capita GDP (PPP) per capita GDP composition by sector
(agriculture, industry, services)
Labour force by sector (agriculture, industry, services)
Consumer price index
Micro, small, and medium-size enterprises
Tax revenue collected by central government
Telephones access Households with television Personal computers per 1000
people Internet users per 1000
people Information and
communications technology expenditures (% of GDP)
IV. Assessment methodology (3) – country background
■ e-waste related policies and legislations■ General environment legislations (air, water, solid waste,
hazardous waste, etc.)
■ Specific laws applying to e-waste, if any
■ Social legislations / policies (child labor, workers rights, programs fostering employment, etc.) informal sectors
■ Institutional framework■ Organization of the legislative, executive and judiciary
systems in the context of waste management
■ Governmental bodies related to environmental management, at local and national level (ministries, municipalities, administrations, etc.)
IV. Assessment methodology (4) – Stakeholder analysis
■ Identify the actors involved and their role in e-waste management by groups of stakeholders
■ Who are they? How are they organised?
■ What’s their role?
■ What impact do they have on e-waste management?
■Stakeholders’ interest in e-waste management:■ What are their motivations?
■ Possible coalitions and conflicts
Set of qualitative and quantitative indicators
Consume Collect Recover
Dispose Product Waste
Function Material Energy
Consumer
Importers Manufacturers
Retailer & Trader
Collection
2nd hand Market Recyclers Inciniration Disposal
IV. Assessment methodology (5) – Stakeholder analysis
v v
Component 1 Component 2
Stakeholder Group Description Type of information collected (qualitative / quantitative)
Producers (including manufacturers & importers)
Hardware brands and their associations (IT association, consumer electronics, electronic components, etc...), but also of "unidentified" producers, when the equipments are non branded.
- Marketing strategy, CSR programs, special economic schemes, etc.
- Brands and market shares, growth, number of employees, % import vs. domestic, number of SMEs, etc.
Distributors Any boday selling the equipments directly to the consumers, including retailers, 2nd hand markets, organisations providing donated equipments, etc.
- Modes of distribution, business models, take-back schemes, etc.
- Number of retail shops, importance of 2nd hand markets, % retail vs. 2nd hand market
Consumers Any body that consumes electric and electronic equipments and discard them as waste when they have reached the end of their useful life. Consumers are usually separated between households, private sector (large and small & medium sized enterprises) and public sector (government, education, NGOs)
- Level of environmental awareness, waste management habits, access to ITC technology, etc.
- % private vs. corporate, % rural vs urban, life span of equipments, penetration rate (# equipments/1000 cap.), e-waste generated / cap.
Collectors Can be collection points (municipal points, drop-offs, retail shops) or an organised pick-up service (formal or informal)
- Organised or left to informal sector? Does the consumer pay or is he paid for e-waste? Take-back schemes?
- E-waste collected / cap., employment generated, income per ton e-waste, etc.
Refurbishers comprises all the repair units, service centres, etc, that extend the life time of equipments and feed the second hand market
- Organisation of the sector, formal or informal, etc. - % of repairable equipments, e-waste produced by a
repair shop, lifespan of refurbished equipments, etc. Recyclers Any organization dismantling, separating
fractions, and recovering material from e-waste.
- Organisation of the sector, formal or informal, disposal of hazardous fractions, etc.
- Employment generated, resulting fractions, income per ton, % formal vs. % informal.
Downstream vendors
the industries buying the fractions (e.g. copper, plastics, metals, gold, etc.) produced by the recyclers. They can be national or international, and vary from jewellers to smelters, etc..
- Which kind of industry, local or international, formal or informal, etc.
- % of raw material coming from e-waste, income per ton, etc.
Final disposal Organizations in charge of the final disposal of waste through incineration or landfilling.
- Private or public, restrictions for landfill space, controlled or wild landfills, infrastructure for hazardous waste, etc.
- Landfill capacity, hazardous waste capacity, characterisation of solid waste stream, % formal vs. % informal, etc.
Most affected communities
Communities that have – by close neighbourship relations to collection points, recycling centres or disposal areas – key interests in the development of an e-waste management system, such as the sector’s economic possibilities or interests in limiting soil, water and air pollution.
- Serious health risks to the community, quality of jobs, impact on other socio-economic activities, etc.
- Cases of negative health impacts, number of jobs provided, share of low-skilled jobs provided, etc.
Other stakeholders Institutions having the capacity to support the implementation of an e-waste management system within the country
Active in solid waste management, working with informal workers, international funding agencies, university institutes, etc.
List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (1)
IV. Assessment methodology (6) – Stakeholder analysis
List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (2)
Stakeholder Group Description Type of information collected (qualitative / quantitative)
Producers (including manufacturers & importers)
Hardware brands and their associations (IT association, consumer electronics, electronic components, etc...), but also of "unidentified" producers, when the equipments are non branded.
- Marketing strategy, CSR programs, special economic schemes, etc.
- Brands and market shares, growth, number of employees, % import vs. domestic, number of SMEs, etc.
Distributors Any boday selling the equipments directly to the consumers, including retailers, 2nd hand markets, organisations providing donated equipments, etc.
- Modes of distribution, business models, take-back schemes, etc.
- Number of retail shops, importance of 2nd hand markets, % retail vs. 2nd hand market
Consumers Any body that consumes electric and electronic equipments and discard them as waste when they have reached the end of their useful life. Consumers are usually separated between households, private sector (large and small & medium sized enterprises) and public sector (government, education, NGOs)
- Level of environmental awareness, waste management habits, access to ITC technology, etc.
- % private vs. corporate, % rural vs urban, life span of equipments, penetration rate (# equipments/1000 cap.), e-waste generated / cap.
Collectors Can be collection points (municipal points, drop-offs, retail shops) or an organised pick-up service (formal or informal)
- Organised or left to informal sector? Does the consumer pay or is he paid for e-waste? Take-back schemes?
- E-waste collected / cap., employment generated, income per ton e-waste, etc.
Refurbishers comprises all the repair units, service centres, etc, that extend the life time of equipments and feed the second hand market
- Organisation of the sector, formal or informal, etc. - % of repairable equipments, e-waste produced by a
repair shop, lifespan of refurbished equipments, etc. Recyclers Any organization dismantling, separating
fractions, and recovering material from e-waste.
- Organisation of the sector, formal or informal, disposal of hazardous fractions, etc.
- Employment generated, resulting fractions, income per ton, % formal vs. % informal.
Downstream vendors
the industries buying the fractions (e.g. copper, plastics, metals, gold, etc.) produced by the recyclers. They can be national or international, and vary from jewellers to smelters, etc..
- Which kind of industry, local or international, formal or informal, etc.
- % of raw material coming from e-waste, income per ton, etc.
Final disposal Organizations in charge of the final disposal of waste through incineration or landfilling.
- Private or public, restrictions for landfill space, controlled or wild landfills, infrastructure for hazardous waste, etc.
- Landfill capacity, hazardous waste capacity, characterisation of solid waste stream, % formal vs. % informal, etc.
Most affected communities
Communities that have – by close neighbourship relations to collection points, recycling centres or disposal areas – key interests in the development of an e-waste management system, such as the sector’s economic possibilities or interests in limiting soil, water and air pollution.
- Serious health risks to the community, quality of jobs, impact on other socio-economic activities, etc.
- Cases of negative health impacts, number of jobs provided, share of low-skilled jobs provided, etc.
Other stakeholders Institutions having the capacity to support the implementation of an e-waste management system within the country
Active in solid waste management, working with informal workers, international funding agencies, university institutes, etc.
IV. Assessment methodology (7) – Stakeholder analysis
IV. Assessment methodology (8) – Mass flow assessment
■ the stakeholder analysis allowed to ■ map the interconnections between the different actors
■ Gather indicators to quantify e-waste flows and stocks
■Mass flow assessment is a way to describe and quantify flows and stocks in a simplified system, it obeys to 2 sets of equations
■ Mass balance equations: ΔS = ΣFin – ΣFout
■ Parametric equations: Fi+1 = f (ki+1, Fi, S)
■ F = flow■ S = Stock■ K is the transfer coefficient
IV. Assessment methodology (9) – impact overview
■The objective is to highlight in a qualitative way where the priorities are (environmental, social and economic)
Social Impacts
Environmental Impacts
Economic Impacts
Impacts on employees
Impacts on local communities
Impacts on society
Emissions to air and water
Solid waste production
Impacts on human health
Pressure on resources
Pressure on ecosystems
Positive impacts (income generation)
Negative impacts (induced costs)
IV. Assessment methodology (10) – conclusions & recommendations
■Participants from 6 African countries have participated to the Durban conference in Oct. 2008
■Formulation of “Durban Declaration”, recommending to:
■ create a national work group including all relevant stakeholders;
■ integrate the regional and international network;
■ conduct a baseline assessment and publicly share the data;
■ Propose a roadmap based on the findings of the national work group;
■ examine synergies with neighbouring countries;
■ develop feasibility studies;
■ implement and evaluate pilot activities.
Component 1 & 2
IV. Assessment methodology (11) – conclusions & recommendations
■Formulation of specific recommendations for the following fields:
■ Policy and legislation
■ Industry involvement and producer responsibility
■ Technology and Infrastructures
■ Monitoring and Data collection
■ Awareness and education
■ National and international exchange platforms
Conclusions
■ The methodology provides a good overview of the situation allows to draw a roadmap for implementation
■ The methodology was improved after being tested in various countries
■ Some difficulties and necessary adjustments appeared:■ Need for a proper training to the methodology of the local expert
■ mass flow analysis often relies on poor data and provides a rough assessment
■ unregulated imports of e-waste and 2nd hand equipments remain difficult to assess need to dedicate time and resource (component 1!)
■ the standardized approach of the methodology sometimes leads to confusion, as some common expressions are understood differently among stakeholders and cultures
Tentative Project Approach (1/2)
1. Start with Nigeria (& Benin) for Comp 1 & 2
2. Realize synergies for Comp 3 (Öko Institut) – especially with Comp 2 (national e-waste strategy group, stakeholder assessment)
3. Generate life experience for Comp 1 and refine approach for other countries
4. Include preleminary results from Comp 1 “European harbours” (Öko Institut)
5. Execute Comp 1 in the other target countries
Tentative Project Approach (2/2)
■ Include the StEP network to improve quality of the work and include the major international stakeholders
■ Major industry involvement (manufacturer, recyclers, …)
■ Broad participation of other UN organizations
■ Includes some relevant governmental bodies (US EPA, Seco, GTZ, …)
■ Gives access to the scientific community active in research related to e-waste.
Tentative Timeplan
2009 2010 2011
Comp 1
EUNigeriaBeninGhanaCôte d’YvoireLiberia
Comp 2NigeriaBenin(Ghana)
Comp 3Nigeria(Ghana)